Girls' name · since 1880
Bena
642 babies named Bena in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1918. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #10,082 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #11,947 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 642
- born since 1880
- 1920s
- peak decade
Bena currently ranks #11947 among girls' names in America, with 642 babies recorded since 1880.
Social Security Administration records show Bena recorded 642 times among girls since 1880, holding rank #11947 nationally today, ahead of 31% of girls, peaking in the 1920s. This profile derives year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #10,082 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #11,947 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 642 born since 1880
- 1920s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Bena ranks #10,082 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #11,947 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 642 born since 1880, peaking in the 1920s.
- #10,082 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #11,947 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 642
- born since 1880
- 1920s
- peak decade
Bena's 642 recorded births place it above 86.05% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
The state file records this name in 2 jurisdictions, led by Pennsylvania.
How Bena compares
642 Top 40% higher than 60% of 17,297 names currently given to girls
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Bena's all-time total is 71% above the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Bena | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 642 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 16 | 21 | 19,840 |
Bena's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Bena splits its recorded history at 1942: 46% of all births land in the more recent half, 54% in the earlier half, an evenly balanced pattern over time. The single quietest year was 1888 (5 births) -- compare that against the 1918 peak of 16 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.
Bena popularity over time
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (1918)
- 16
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Bena by decade
1920s is the heaviest window (86 births, 13% of the file).
1920s was Bena's strongest decade.
86 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 13% of all-time use.
Bena births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 24
1880s
24 births
- 1890s
1890s
49 births
- 1900s
1900s
46 births
- 1910s
1910s
83 births
- 1920s
1920s
86 births
- 1930s
1930s
51 births
- 1940s
1940s
38 births
- 1950s
1950s
35 births
- 1960s 28
1960s
28 births
- 1970s
1970s
45 births
- 1980s
1980s
36 births
- 1990s 23
1990s
23 births
- 2000s 33
2000s
33 births
- 2010s
2010s
38 births
- 2020s 27
2020s
27 births
What this shows Peak: 1920s at 86 births (13% of all-time use).
How Bena compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Bena's total volume
Bena by state
Where Bena concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Pennsylvania | | 27 | 4.2% |
| #2 | Texas | | 5 | 0.8% |
27 of 642 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 2 reporting states.
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Bena? ▼
Where does Bena sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Bena most popular? ▼
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What to do with Bena's data
- Bena's decade-level peak was the 1920s (86 total births); usage has since declined to 27 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- Pennsylvania records the most Benas (27 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. Pennsylvania names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Bena
Nearby Names Like Bena
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Bena
Compare Bena side by side: Bena vs Benita Bena vs Bennie Bena vs Bentley
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Bena
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Bena: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1918)
Similar record span (~145 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1880–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Bena draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.